On the 22nd April, the GRFU hosted an International Rugby Charity Dinner at the Grand Battery House. The GRFU were delighted to welcome HE The Governor Sir James Dutton, the Hon Steven Linares, and Michael Llamas, to share the evening with many other Corporate dignitaries who attended this prestigious event.
The GRFU were also honored to welcome two of the greatest names in international Rugby, former All Blacks Captain Sean Fitzpatrick (92 Caps) and Zinzan Brooke (58 Caps), also a huge thanks to Ian Irving who provided the evening's entertainment and conducted the auction which raised funds for the GRFU.
Fitzpatrick and Brooke provided comical stories, reminiscing about tours and fixtures that they either played together in or against with some of the greatest rugby players from the late 80's to the late 90s.
The GRFU would like to thank all of our supporters who over the years have helped develop Gibraltar Rugby into one of the largest participation team sports in Gibraltar. We now boast over 400 playing members, the majority of which are under the age of 20. This feat in itself is even more remarkable given that Rugby is still played predominantly behind closed doors at DTC and North of the border. Over the past 10 years we have made a concerted effort to increase the participants playing grass roots rugby, this has involved a part time Rugby Development Officer running tag rugby sessions in junior and middle schools, senior players coaching and educating young Gibraltarians after school and volunteers giving up their time on weekends to give young Gibraltarian children the experience of being part of a team, part of a sporting ethos that promotes Fair Play, Honesty and Integrity, ultimately experiencing what it is like to being part of a Rugby Club
It has always been the GRFU's ambition to equal other sporting bodies in being able to provide a full time Development Officer (RDO) working in the schools, assisting teachers and inspiring young Gibraltarians to be the future players of the Gibraltar National Rugby Team. Unfortunately the GRFU is still not an internationally recognised Union and therefore receives no external funding from either Rugby Europe or World Rugby, formally the IRB. It is therefore down to events such as this evenings dinner that have allowed us to finally be in a position to offer a full time RDO to focus on our schools development programme.
It is this RDO a long with a rugby facility that will enable the sport to be accessible to all members of the public. The facility, like so many other Gibraltar sporting bodies, will be a place where Gibraltar Rugby can call home.
It is these two objectives that are key to the future success of Gibraltar Rugby. The full-time RDO objective is now a reality and we anticipate that this will be in place as of this September. The Rugby ground and club house is now a priority and we intend to work along side the Government of Gibraltar on behalf of both our playing and social membership to deliver this.
The charity event was organized in order to raise the profile of rugby on the Rock together with raising funds for the development of youth rugby. Youth Rugby on the rock still suffers from not being easily accessible owing to lack of facilities and playing behind ‘closed doors at DTC’. The facilities that are available come at a great expense to the GRFU, it is events like these that help make the playing of Rugby on the Rock possible.
To find out more about Gibraltar Rugby please visit www.gibraltarrfu.com
International Rugby Charity Dinner
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